Politicians, policy-makers, senior officials, diplomats, experts and other stakeholders will join Jewish community leaders from across Europe to discuss security of the Jewish communities, education, community development and how to engage and empower Jewish youth, at the annual European Jewish Association (EJA) conference which will take place in Paris on 24-25 February.
Entitled ‘‘Jews in Europe: United for a Better Future’, the conference, ‘’will take the pulse of our communities across Europe’’ on these issues, organizers said.
The conference will take place in the newly inaugurated European Centre for Judaism in the French capital, amid a record high number of antisemitic incidents reported in several EU countries and a time of worry for Jews across the continent who once again find themselves in the frontline as xenophobia, populism and nationalism take stronger root.
‘’We of course welcome the many recent statements and speeches from those in power but what we need is concrete action,’’ said EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, ahead of the conference. To organize this event, EJA, which is one of the largest Jewish organisation in Europe, has joined forces with the largest federation of France’s Jewish communities and organizations, the Consistoire Central, the newly-founded Action and Protection League (APL) and the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
‘’Fighting antisemitism should not just be left to Jews but requires everyone in society, especially political leaders, to man the barricades against it. This conference is our Europe-wide call to action as we will unveil a plan to combat antisemitism,’’ Rabbi Margolin said.
APL founder Rabbi Shlomo Koves said: “We are fighting a thousand year uphill battle against antisemitism. In order to make any kind of sustainable headway at eradicating this scourge, we must form a united front, a European-wide coalition that can individuate all mutations of Antisemitism. By sharing our knowledge, expertise and, above all, our success stories, European Jewry and Europe’s political leadership will develop the right tools to stop all future waves of Jew-hatred.”